Man Finds His Own Stolen Car, Woman Inside Was No Stranger to Missoula Jail

On Friday, police received a call from a man who claimed his car had been stolen from the 700 Block of Burton, the next day he called police, saying he had seen his own car being driven by the thief.

"He told us that he had located his car in the 300 block of Pattee street," said Missoula Police Public Information Officer Travis Welsh. "When the officer spoke with him, he said that there was a female occupying the car when he found it, and he pointed her out walking down the sidewalk. The officers made contact with her and subsequently arrested her for the theft of the vehicle."

The car had a number of stolen goods in it, and police are still trying to track down who they belong to. In the meantime, 32-year-old Justina Maier was taken to jail for felony theft.

"We know she accessed two vehicles that were adjacent to each other," Welsh said. "Of course, in cases like this, we always try to find out if we can connect a suspect to other cases. it's possible that she may have been getting into other cars on that particular evening."

Maier is no stranger to the Missoula jail or to theft charges, she was in jail just a few weeks ago, on June 12, for theft, possession of methamphetamine and ten other charges. Even in June, Maier had outstanding warrants for past crimes.